“I’m not used to other people around,” Eva said slowly.
“Not a problem,” Juliana stood up, revealing simple white pajamas. “I just didn’t expect you to be telling the truth when you said you showered with Rach.” And with that she disappeared past Eva into the bathroom.
Eva sighed and looked down to find Arachne’s eight eyes staring back. “Maybe I should buy some–” Eva cut herself off with a shake of her head. “Too late I suppose.”
Arachne climbed off and unfurled herself to her human form. Eva hoped the squelching noises were covered up by the sound of the shower. Once human, four legs sprouted from her back and wrapped themselves around Eva. Her clawed hands ran themselves through Eva’s hair.
“You’ve been hugging me non stop for almost a full day now.”
Arachne pulled back with a wide grin on her face. “I know. I wanted another one.”
Eva bit her lip and decided to ask again. “Are you sure you are alright?”
“I’m great. Why?” Her grin might have stretched a little wider.
“You just acted a bit odd this morning.”
“Well, as long as we’re going to be together for a year, might as well be together during it, right?”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and slid the window open. The screen fell out with barely a tap. Both Eva and Arachne leaned out the window and watched it land in some bushes below. They shared a glance and both shrugged.
Arachne climbed out, using her spare limbs to attach herself to the wall.
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be seen. You stay safe,” she said, one of her long legs poking at Eva. “If you get even a scratch on you, I will tear this place to pieces.”
“That’s a bit much for a scratch.”
“Then you’d love to see what I’d do if you were seriously injured.”
With that she disappeared up the building into the morning darkness.
Eva shut the window and got dressed. They were in Montana and its vastly different climate. Still, it was June. A skirt and tee-shirt should do.
Juliana emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed, and sat down at her desk. “So,” she said.
Eva smiled and sat on the edge of the as of yet unclaimed middle desk. “I’m planning on heading into town for shopping. School supplies among other things. Do you want to come?”
“It might be too early to get uniforms,” she patted herself, “just in case. But nonperishable alchemy supplies and books would be nice.”
Eva nodded. “I need a focus as well. And a new set of vials with anti-decay enchantments.”
“A focus?” The blond tilted her head to one side. “You lost your old one?”
“Never had one.”
“Oh. I just expected with all those potions you had, that you would have had a focus as well.”
“Don’t need a focus to brew potions.”
“I suppose that is true,” Juliana said with a nod. “Shall we grab some food before we head out?”
“Sounds great.”
The girls headed downstairs and scrounged up a light breakfast in the kitchens. They met some other early rising students and exchanged pleasantries. Only when the other students mentioned the time did the girls realize it was far too early for shops to be open.
They killed time in the dorm library. Eva was a bit disappointed, if unsurprised, to find no books catered to her specialized interests. There was a book on runes that Eva had never read before. Juliana poured herself into a book on magical creatures.
Soon enough they left the library and headed outside. Rickenbacker Hall was one of two dorm buildings built across from each other. They each held three years worth of students.
Turning down one path led to the school. A large but mostly flat building except for a three-story wing at one end. It was a modern structure, mostly made out of large cinder blocks with lots of glass and decorative metal. Not at all what Eva expected a magical academy to look like.
The opposite direction led off campus. There was a large town built around the school. It was similarly modern, though none of the buildings looked more than two stories high. According to the school pamphlet, a lot of entertainment areas filled the immediate area outside the school campus. Regular shops and homes lay further beyond.
The reality couldn’t be worse. There were shops around campus to be sure. Entertainment buildings as well—however a number of them looked closed. And not just closed because it was still early in the morning.
At least Arachne would have plenty of selection.
Eva doubted the situation got better further away from the school. There were probably tons of homes where the owners had packed up and left the dying city.
“Shall we start with your focus? It is always fun to get one.”
“Sure,” Eva said with a shrug. “If we can find a place that sells some.”
“I came here during summers when my brother still attended. I think I remember my way around.”
“Lead on,” Eva said. “I’ll follow.”
Juliana grabbed a surprised Eva by the hand and led her right past the first line of shops. They came to a circular plaza that looked like the perfect area for school supplies.
Outside a clothing shop, a set of school uniforms performed a tuneless waltz. The bookstore’s sign was a giant book that flipped pages every few minutes. Eva wondered if the text was actually anything other than nonsense filler words. The potion shop, focus store, general equipment store, and a good handful of other stores all had similar eye-catching advertisements.
As Eva’s initial surprise at the sights wore off, she noticed there was not a single person milling about. The benches were all empty. The guy sitting behind the Gooble Gobble Gourmet Grub kiosk was obviously playing some sort of game on a tablet and hadn’t even looked up once.
Perhaps it was because of the early morning. Just after the shops opened maybe no one was there. Eva doubted it.
Undaunted by the worries that plagued Eva, Juliana dragged the black-haired girl straight to Foible Foci.
Wands were the prevalent foci on display. Wooden ones, metal ones, simple ones, jeweled ones, all laid out on shiny racks. Given that wands were what magic was instructed with at the academy, that was probably a good idea.
Still, Eva found herself wandering to the alternate foci. Rings, large red spheres, staves, crystal capped rods, daggers and other weapons, even books specifically designed for use as foci.
The rings were obviously the most enticing for the combat aspects Zoe Baxter had mentioned. With Juliana at her side, Eva began her search.
Eva purchased a simple wooden wand. It would suffice for classes and Eva had no intention of using it outside class. For rings, Eva chose a full fingered version. According to the shopkeep, it had far less capacity for raw magical power than something like her master’s dual ring and bracelet combination. Juliana didn’t expect it to be useful aside from the most mundane of spells.
Eva didn’t think that would be much of a problem with her natural abilities. Unnatural abilities? Either way, she could do magic on her own.
They soon left to the alchemy and potions shop where they both picked up a large number of brewing supplies. Eva picked up a lot of fresh ingredients that Juliana avoided. She had to leave most of her potion cupboard at home and she didn’t intend to be caught with only what she had in her satchel.
Juliana bought out half the bookstore when they arrived there. She wanted every book that she didn’t already have at her personal library at her home. Eva wondered how she planned to transport them all back when the girl pulled a small suitcase out of her pocket. It grew to a regular sized suitcase and she dumped the books in. They still went over the edge, but when the blond zipped up the zipper, not a spot looked like it had even the slightest bulge. She then dropped it back in her pocket with a small wink to Eva.